title: Non-mammalian vertebrate embryos as models in nanomedicine.
abstract: Various in vivo biological models have been proposed for studying the interactions of nano-materials in biological systems. Unfortunately, the widely used small mammalian animal models (rodents) are costly and labor intensive and generate ethical issues and antagonism from the anti-vivisectionist movement. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the scientific community in the interactions between nano-materials and non-mammalian developmental organisms, which are now being recognized as valid models for the study of human disease. This review examines and discusses the biomedical applications and the interaction of nano-materials with embryonic systems, focusing on non-mammalian vertebrate models, such as chicken, zebrafish and Xenopus.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Animal models are critical components of preclinical biomedical research. This review discusses the feasibility and potential applications of non-mammalian vertebral animals, such as zebrafish, xenopus, and chicken as animal models in nanomedicine research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology Unit, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Institute of Life Science, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: m.giannaccini@sssup.it.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giannaccini
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Science, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cuschieri
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology Unit, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dente
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology Unit, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Institute of Life Science, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Vittoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Raffa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D014981:Xenopus; D015027:Zebrafish
keywords: Chicken; Embryos; Nano-materials; Xenopus; Zebrafish